Puzzles Like You

"That Neil Halstead is fast becoming one of Britain's greatest songwriters is beyond doubt.”
- Time Out [UK]

Mojave 3 began in '94, with Rachel Goswell, Neil Halstead and Ian McCutcheon ditching their noisier band Slowdive for simple songs that could be written and played on acoustic guitar - with 4AD releasing their debut 'Ask Me Tomorrow' almost immediately. Their ranks swelled over the years and two more albums of gorgeous country rock followed ['Out Of Tune' and 'Excuses For Travellers'], before releasing what some would argue is their most outstanding album, '03's 'Spoon and Rafter'.

'Spoon and Rafter' was an album composed and recorded in widescreen, glorious technicolour, with a luxurious sense of space and lavish attention to detail in the arrangements. There was a gentle, but thoroughgoing ambition throughout.

And so to the band's 5th album 'Puzzles Like You', which sees Mojave 3 moving again in a slightly unexpected direction. 'Puzzles Like You' is filled with the life-affirming light of their Cornish base - splashed with sunlight and the heady sparkle of summertime waves. The songs fizz past, brimming with renewed confidence - as with soaring single "Breaking the Ice".

It's fair enough to say that 'Puzzles Like You' is the most approachable, infectious and downright fun record Mojave 3 have ever made. It seems set, like all of its predecessors progressively have to bring the band to a wider audience - and let's face it, when people fall under the spell of Mojave 3's gorgeous and affecting music, they tend to stick around.

"Halstead… finds a soundscape as lush, sparse and fragile as his words and voice. The combination is a rare work of understated genius.”
- Sound Nation ('Spoon and Rafter' review, 2004)

"These are some of the strongest, most involving songs the band have ever recorded.”
- All Music Guide